NATO to formally declare end to Libya mission
BRUSSELS: NATO was due Friday to formally declare an end to its seven-month mission in Libya despite calls from the country's new rulers for air patrols to continue until the end of the year.
Alliance warplanes are expected to be grounded on Monday after flying more than 26,000 sorties and bombing almost 6,000 targets in an operation that helped a ragtag rebel force oust veteran ruler Moamer Kadhafi.
NATO ambassadors were meeting from 0800 GMT to confirm a preliminary decision to end the mission, one day after the UN Security Council unanimously voted to end the mandate that authorised military action in Libya.
Security Council resolution 2016 eased the arms embargo and ordered the end of the authorisation for a no-fly zone and action to protect civilians from 11:59 pm Libyan time (2159 GMT) on October 31.
The operation divided the United Nations, with Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa accusing NATO of breaching the mandate.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UN decision showed that the country had entered a "new era" but its interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, warned on Wednesday that Kadhafi loyalists still pose a threat.
The resolution, Hague said, "is another significant milestone towards a peaceful, democratic future for Libya."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has offered to help the new Libyan regime reform the country's security sector, but the alliance has repeatedly ruled out sending troops on the ground.
Alliance warplanes are expected to be grounded on Monday after flying more than 26,000 sorties and bombing almost 6,000 targets in an operation that helped a ragtag rebel force oust veteran ruler Moamer Kadhafi.
NATO ambassadors were meeting from 0800 GMT to confirm a preliminary decision to end the mission, one day after the UN Security Council unanimously voted to end the mandate that authorised military action in Libya.
Security Council resolution 2016 eased the arms embargo and ordered the end of the authorisation for a no-fly zone and action to protect civilians from 11:59 pm Libyan time (2159 GMT) on October 31.
The operation divided the United Nations, with Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa accusing NATO of breaching the mandate.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the UN decision showed that the country had entered a "new era" but its interim leader, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, warned on Wednesday that Kadhafi loyalists still pose a threat.
The resolution, Hague said, "is another significant milestone towards a peaceful, democratic future for Libya."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has offered to help the new Libyan regime reform the country's security sector, but the alliance has repeatedly ruled out sending troops on the ground.
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